Sirocco
by ablackbear
Summary: Three years after the Great Thaw, Arendelle celebrates its 400th anniversary as a sovereign nation with its ruling sisters Snow Queen Elsa and Princess Anna. With a marriage on the horizon and unresolved troubles still lurking just below the surface, the winds change as the two sisters face new challenges to their kingdom, themselves and their relationship with each other.
1. Chapter 1

Summer's warmth spread over the fjord for what felt like the last time for the year. The sun was dimmer this morning and growing dimmer still with the passing days. The encroaching autumn was sliding in to summer's place, a chill to the winds and a graying of the skies and sea. The winds blowing uncharacteristically from the south east bringing an unseasonable warmth. The memory of the Great Freeze still fresh and exciting waves of shivers in the minds of the common folk of Arendelle, having experienced it first hand less than 2 years ago. Thankfully, the Great Thaw gave them hope for spring to come despite the approaching death of summer.

But today was not the day to worry about how close Arendelle was to eternal winter, for today was a special day.

Today was the 400th Anniversary of a sovereign Arendelle, ruled by the same royal family since its birth as a nation. The whole kingdom was busying themselves with preparations and gossips. As it would happen it was also the announcement of Princess Anna's engagement to Royal Ice Master Kristoff Bjorgman. Arendelle's own second born princess had always been a free spirited and uninhibited fiery redhead so her engagement to a common albeit worthwhile man was never met with any sort of surprise. Not that anyone objected, love was love and those two were obviously in love and who could say no to that?

To be honest, most of the gossip was all squeals and blushes about the vividly imagined bedroom antics of a mountain man and a princess. The air was filled with grins and faces reddened by more than the summer's last breath.

Excitedness soon mixed with the love that hung in the air as the fjord was full of visiting ships. From schooners to sloops to frigates and even a few junks overflowed from the docks and out into the surrounding harbor. All of them flying royal banners and sigils in a proud display of aristocratic fanfare causing the townsfolk to discuss if Queen Elsa herself would be smitten with one. With all these visitors, the town was busier than it had been in decades all of them anxious for the castle of Arendelle to sound its call for the celebration to finally begin.

Inside the castle, the Royal staff were racing within the castle grounds. A whirl of auburn hair stood in the swirling flurry of it all, directing and leading the entire mass orchestra.

"Kai, these tulips are wonderful, thank you for getting them. Gerda, those appetizers were delicious so go ahead and tell the chefs to prepare the rest of them."

With a grin spread wide across her freckled face, Princess Anna took in the bustle with had worked hard to prepare for this day and keep up with her royal duties. She spent her time maintaining the castle, directing the day to day activities of the staff, inspecting the guards, monitoring the kitchens, scheduling the periodic social events for the kingdom, and occasionally overseeing the harbor's docks in addition to planning her wedding. All of the responsibility gave Anna the outlet she needed for her boundless energy

"'The centerpieces are being placed, the decorations are set up, the castle is spotless, the kitchens are in full swing and the guards are dressed to the nines and ready to receive the guests. Oh! I'll have to remind Ida to make sure the lingonberry tarts and the krumkakes go out to the townsfolk before the party starts,' Anna hummed and grinned to herself." Anna hummed and grinned to herself. Anna had devoted a generous portion of her party budget for the benefit of Arendelle's common citizens on her announcement day, providing casks of ale and tarts for the public to celebrate with. It had been a hard two years, but Arendelle had kept their chins up. They deserved something special and sweet, Anna thought, something to keep their spirits up.

In the two years since the Great Thaw, Anna had matured. Her red hair was longer and tied into two braids that hung across her back, the rest of her thick hair lose and spilling over her shoulders. Her face had thinned a little with the years but her eyes were still brimming with light and optimism. Anna had been volunteering to take lesser and more time consuming royal duties off of her sister's already full hands. Anna had proven herself more than capable (granted the first few tries were near disastrous). It was all to help keep the queen from being too stressed.

"Speaking of the queen she is-" Anna turning, looking for her elder sister.

"No where to be found around here" Anna sighed.

Elsa was in her study, pouring over the mountains of ledgers and the foothills of papers. The young queen was exhausted, her eyes blurring at the sight of countless columns of royal accounts and the fine print of trade contracts and royal letters. Her own pile of notes lay before her, dense with fresh ink. She reached to dip her pen into her inkwell and went back to her notes. The pen was still dry. She looked to find the ink well frozen.

She sat back in her high backed chair closing her eyes. Even the blacks of her eyelids seemed imprinted with the numbers. Elsa brought her forefinger and her thumb, still black from the ink, and rubbed her furrowed brow, leaving thick trails of ink on her forehead.

The young queen inhaled and let go a deep breath. Had it contained heat it would have hung visibly in the air from the cold. Elsa opened her eyes to the work and papers on her desk. She dared not look up to confirm but could feel the Sword of Damocles glinting above her head. A portrait of her father's coronation hung on the wall. Standing tall and proud with his eyes straight ahead, Elsa felt from her angle that his eyes shown disappointment. Not even two years into her reign and Elsa already felt like a failure.

_What am I going to do_ Elsa pondered desperately to herself.

Her despair was interrupted by trademark knock on her office door.

"Elsa? You in there?" her sister's voice came through the door.

"Nope, not in here at all" Elsa deadpanned.

Anna opened the door with a serving tray in hand. She took one glance at her sister and the tray flew up to cover her mouth. Anna was fighting hard against the tidal wave of laughter in her mouth at her sister's rather large set of new eyebrows.

Elsa looked at her sister tired and puzzled accentuated with her comically huge eyebrows.

"Is something wrong?" Elsa asked, unaware.

"mhgmp" Anna struggled to let words and not laughs out of her mouth "..no no nothing's wrong, nothing at all. You look...I just wanted to get your opinion on this serving tray." Anna managed her face red and straining from trying not to grin like a mad woman.

Anna held up the silver tray, its flat mirror like surface showing Elsa her rather bold new set eyebrows. When realization splashed across Elsa's face, Anna's laughter broke through her mouth like the Greeks in the sacking of Troy. Her uproarious laughter left her leaning back into a wall. She slid down holding her aching sides and still laughed joyously.

Elsa pretended to laugh and moved quickly across her study to the opposite wall to the water basin next to her window only to find the water frozen both in the bowl and the jug. Elsa braced herself against the side table, her face full of worry and her shoulders slumped.

Anna's laughter stopped when she peered through tear filled eyes to see her sister looking defeated across the room. She scrambled to get up, leaving the serving platter on the ground and rushed to her sister's side.

"Elsa? Are you okay?" she asked gently.

Elsa didn't say anything, she replied with only a heavy exhale.

Anna placed a gentle hand on her sister's shoulder, her eyes soft and concerned.

"You're pretty stressed huh?"

Elsa nodded. "Very. Very much" she murmured.

Anna smiled softly, her face showing understanding more now than concern. She turned Elsa to face her and took her older sister's hands into her own ignoring the cold they exuded. Anna's thumbs rubbing reassurance into the back of Elsa's hands.

"Hey remember?

Elsa looked up from under her brows up to her little sister, her ice blue eyes meeting her sisters' sea green teal.

Together they said simply. "Face it. Feel it. Let it Go." The two sisters slowly exhaled a long breath. The coldness in the room dissipated and the swirling snow vanished and the water in the basin returned to liquid. Elsa gratefully washed her face of the ink as Anna tried to hide her worry with a smile as she handed her sister a towel. Elsa took it and patted her face dry.

Anna playfully raised an eyebrow, caught between playfulness and legitimate concern.

"What's wrong Elsa? You're not the one getting married here."

Elsa let go a small smile. She spoke with sarcasm tinted with exhaustion.

"Yes, its the kingdom's anniversary and your engagement announcement but it seems everyone is intent on making it MY engagement announcement and the celebration of a new kingdom."

Anna chuckled heartily and turned her head from her sister to the window. The fjord was overflowing harbor with ships of all shapes,sizes, and banners, the majority of which almost never visited Arendelle before.

"Yeah I don't remember inviting that many people. I'm pretty sure I sent out invitations to our allies, trading partners, our relatives in Corona and some of the nobility in our kingdom like you said. Why are they here?"

Elsa cast a sideways glance to the window, her head bowed.

"Well when you're the Snow Queen of Arendelle, I guess word travels fast when you are a bachelorette at my age and your only younger sister is the first to be engaged." Elsa shook her head solemnly. "I'm sorry Anna. This was supposed to be for you and Kristoff, not me"

Anna waved her sister off. "Pshtah, its a party so the more the merrier Elsa. Plus who knows? Maybe some brawny, strapping, handsome young lord will sweep you off your feet." She jested and wiggled her eyebrows.

Elsa held a hand to her mouth to mask her laugh at her ridiculous sister.

"The last thing I need is a herd of princes and noblemen all attempting to woo me into a marriage for their own benefit." Her laughter died when she looked back to her work-laden desk.

"Ever since we no longer do business with Weselton-"

"Weasel Town" Anna corrected sternly with a pointed finger.

Elsa continued, intent on seriousness. "- Arendelle has a surplus of goods that need to be sold or traded before it starts to negatively affect the kingdom."

A snow flurry began to swirl around Elsa's feet as she spoke, steadily rising from the floor.

"We already trade with so many neighboring countries and I doubt they would be willing to renegotiate to allow for more goods and the whole kingdom is depending on me to make sure that we don't fall into an economic depression and with what happened last year I can't risk endangering Arendelle's citizens' well-being again or else I would be the most incompetent ruler in Arendelle's four hundred year history and-"

Anna threw up her hands to stop her sister.

"Elsa, it's never a good sign when you ramble like I do. Arendelle is very safe in your very capable hands. I know you are worried right now, but things will work out. We figured it out last time didn't we?"

Elsa was unsure but nodded.

"So for right now don't worry too much. People have confidence in you, Elsa. An entire kingdom's worth of people believe in you Elsa including me.

And who knows? Someone visiting here today might have a need for a new trading partner as well." Anna smiled from the top of her head to the tips of her toes at her sister. She always overflowed with hope in an abundance that made Elsa a little jealous at times.

"So relax big sis. You may be queen but tonight its my party and all you need to do is relax. No queen-ly business for you. I'm in charge. You just grab a glass of wine, eat some chocolate, kick your feet up and relax. You be Anna and I'll be you."

Anna threw both her braids over one shoulder, her poise straightened and her face cold and regal.

"I am Elsa," Anna imitated in the most comedic way she knew " the Snow Queen of Arendelle. I'm poised, calm, collected, and I can't dance to save my life. If you really want a good time please see my sister Anna, she's the fun one."

Elsa rolled her eyes with a smile and turned around to face Anna. She bore a wild grin on her face and exaggerated a fidgety person.

With a higher voice Elsa began "I'm Anna, and I have no filter on what I say or do so if you see me gallivanting around the kingdom with an ice harvester and a reindeer or getting engaged to the first man I see-"

Anna looked at her sister with deadly seriousness "We agreed we would never speak of that again-"

Elsa's grin turned sly "And we also agreed that you as a princess of Arendelle, would stop sleeping in the barn but that hasn't stopped either."

The two sisters eyed each other,

"Touche dear sister." Anna admitted, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Elsa and Anna shared a laugh. Anna moved to Elsa's open arms and wrapped her sister into a warm hug. Elsa smiled relieved to be reminded that she still had her little sister, her whole world and she was warm, safe and smiling.

"But on a serious note, princesses shouldn't smell like barn and reindeer" Elsa said with her nose curling slightly at the earthy tang in her sister's scent.

"I'm marrying a mountain man so get used to it" Anna replied.

"At least don't sleep in the stables Anna. Kristoff knows he has his own room when he stays here."

"Sven was sick, what else was Kristoff supposed to do with his best friend sick? And what was I supposed to do but stay and support them both?" Anna huffed.

"Granted those circumstances, you are still a princess and princesses should avoid smelling like stables when guests arrive" Elsa smiled, holding her sister at an arms length. Anna wore a pout but a smile in her eyes.

"I know I know. I was just making sure everything was in order for the celebration tonight." Anna said. "I wanted everything to go perfectly so you wouldn't have to worry."

"And I appreciate it greatly." Elsa said.

"But you should really let me help with all the other stuff Elsa. You don't have to take it on all yourself."

"You do plenty of work already."

"I look after the castle and plan a few parties. That's hardly enough." Anna huffed. "Elsa, I just want to help in anyway I can-"

"I am queen, it is my duty and my responsibility to handle everything else. I am supposed to look over everything." Elsa said sharply, her tone warning Anna not to tread further.

Anna opened her mouth but chose to close it. She didn't want to ruin the night to come with sour moods.

"Regardless, the party is ready and the guests will be arriving within the next two hours so I am going to check up on a few last things and then get ready." She offered a smile of truce and kissed her sister's cheek. "So take the rest of the night off and get ready. I promise it will be fun."

"And the suitors?" Elsa breathed, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Well if anyone starts to bother you, me and Kristoff will be right there. And if we can't get there in time, put a little arctic blast in their pants." Anna said plainly.

Elsa choked out a laugh.

"What? That will stop them in their tracks guaranteed, Elsa. I've seen it a million times with Kristoff." Anna said proudly.

"Do I want to know how you know this?"

Anna flushed and stammered "It gets cold on the mountain, and snow gets everywhere you know. Sometimes in your hair, your shirt and uh-other places and sometimes its not bad and other times its super painful and then there's frostbite to consider-"

Anna stopped and looked at her sister with a sheepish smile on her reddened face. "I'm uh- …..going to go get ready" Anna finally said. Backing out of the room as best as she could, bumping into a side table as she did. She clawed for the door knob and quickly exited as soon as she found it.

Elsa sighed before Anna peeked her head into the room.

"I love you Elsa." Anna said. "Everything will be okay. Trust me?"

"I trust you Anna. I love you too. I'll see you soon okay?" Elsa said smiling sweetly.

Her sister smiled and with a click of the door she was gone.

Elsa stood in the noticeably less warm room exhaled softly. She looked to the ajar window and out to the fjord. The explosion of banners glinting in the fading sun's golden glow now shifted in the winds. From north to southeast. A sirocco had blown into Arendelle, bringing a last breath of warmth. Elsa stood uneasily as saw the shadows growing longer as the sun set.

The cold in the pit of her stomach was growing slowly as she felt the sirocco wash over her.

The mix of heat and cold only meant one thing to Elsa: A storm was coming.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry I found an editor and they have been putting me through the constructive criticism wringer so both Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are both edited and updated. I'm going to finish another chapter in the next couple of days. Thanks for reading again. Hope you all enjoy. **

Dusk gave way to a brisk evening in Arendelle, and the kingdom was lit with lantern glow as the entire population celebrated its 400th birthday. The town and castle alike were awash with sound and light, a rare and anticipated occasion that had finally arrived.

The castle was flooded with dignitaries, nobles-both domestic and foreign, and some honored guests from Arendelle's own shores. However, the real spectacle was the evident flock of bachelors. They all proudly displayed their plumage of flashy wears and fine clothes, all unique to their lands of origin. A few, heated discussions of boasts and insults (some were not as subtle as gentry decorum would have dictated) had the entire ball room buzzing with talk of the suitors. Several bets were placed among the castle staff on who Elsa may fancy, though most of them hoped Elsa would pick either someone from the kingdom or no one at all. Since the Great Thaw, no one was keen on foreign princes, though it was for good reason.

Elsa surveyed the flock of suitors, which was in and of itself an assault on the senses. Dizzying bursts of color dusted a cloud of heavy musk and perfume. The flock cawed sounds of vanity that put Narcissus to shame. As she examined the crowd, she recognized suitors from Corona (_cousins of cousins, best to avoid)_, Norgrad-Berk (t_hey always talk about how their ancestors supposedly rode dragons and not much else_), Weselton (_The Duke's nephew, good looks did not run in that bloodline_), and the Southern Isles (_have them removed immediately and bar them from entering the country ever again_). Many more suitors numbered among them with unfamiliar crests, colors, and fashions.

The newly engaged royal couple stood together at the head of the ball room, and graciously played host to the kingdom's guests. Anna looked gorgeous with her auburn hair braided and styled into a bun adorned with ribbons in Arendelle's colors. She wore a shoulderless dress in her trademark shade of green with embroidered patterns of subtle compliments of red that matched her escort's best waist sash. Kristoff Bjorgman towered over his petite fiancée, but his face wore half the confidence. His blonde hair was slicked back and his chin sported the beginnings of a beard. He looked ruggedly handsome in his Sami-styled black suit with a green shirt underneath the coat. Anna had commissioned the suit especially for him as a gift since he never felt comfortable in the more common styles. Even in a dashing suit and with a princess on his arm, Kristoff was never one for crowds. He clenched and unclenched his hands again and again. Anna noticed and beamed as she affectionately straightened the Ice Master medal that hung from his strong neck. His nervousness melted away, and he returned the smile with a gentle kiss on her cheek.

Elsa smiled as she looked on at the couple. _She's growing up. And moving on, _Elsa thought. A moment of melancholy fleeted across her features as she turned to look out on the ball room crowd. She stood in front of her throne, crown and all, and wore a deep blue gown, flourished with light blue crocus-styled rosemail stitching. Elsa had opted for a gown from her wardrobe as opposed to one of her ice dresses. She wore a reserved smile for everyone and kept her distance as Anna and Kristoff greeted the visitors. Elsa didn't wish to draw attention to herself anymore than what was warranted. She silently prayed that the guests, particularly the horde of suitors, would behave themselves.

Those hopes faded when she caught sight of the three gods of ill behavior incarnate that strolled up to meet them.

Fenick, Renick and Genick, the Triplet Thanes of Scor & Eire, west of Arendelle, all stood like proud oaks with blazing red hair. Each wore an identical, mischievous grin on his face as he carried a cask under his left arm.

Elsa swallowed and nearly choked on the lump in her throat that welled when she recalled the tales about Scor & Eire. The Kingdom of Scor & Eire was infamous for their spirits and even more infamous for their passionate, internal rivalries over who could distill the best spirit. Their competitions to determine the best of the best involved drinking, insulting, drinking more, fighting, drinking yet again, and, ultimately, blacking out before a proper decision could be made.

The Triplet Thanes were infamous in these games. Elsa remembered that the Baron of Aestir, once a handsome, proud youth, still couldn't see out of his left eye, and his skin was riddled with jaundice after a contest among the brothers.

The brothers approached the throne, all bowed at the waist politely, and returned upright as they bore the same grin that Elsa grew increasingly nervous about.

The triplets spoke in turn, and their voices boomed in their charmingly gruff accents.

"From the Lands of Scor & Eire, our elder sister Queen Aileen would like to wish its ally, the Kingdom of Arendelle and its royal sisters, a very joyous anniversary on this day, and may many more be ahead! We would like to extend our congratulations to her royal highness Princess Anna of Arendelle and Ice Master Kristoff Bjorgman on their engagement. May you and your kingdom know nothing but happiness from this day on."

Anna and Kristoff smiled thankfully, though Elsa knew the brothers all eyed Arendelle's Queen at the center.

A triplet, one with an classically braided beard that spilled onto his chest, stepped forward, and he hardly contained his enthusiasm.

"As a gift for your engagement, my brothers and I have brought casks of our country's national drink, including my own private distillation, which I must say myself is-"

Another triplet, this one with a clean shaven face, interrupted.

"-not as good as my own distillation, your Majesty. Please allow me to pour you some to taste. It is-"

"-absolute swill compared to my whiskey your majesty," the last brother said. He was smaller than the first two but with wild hair and even wilder eyes.

Kristoff stood stunned, though amused, at the three brothers who jostled and shoved each other all the while they insulted each other in turns. Both Anna and Elsa shared a look of mutual worry.

Anna stepped forward, her hands raised toward the brothers.

"Gentlemen, please! There is no need to fight! Not at a party, right?" Anna said and smiled. "We haven't even had a taste, so how can we even say who's whiskey is best-?"

The brothers whipped out three, small glasses and placed them in Kristoff's, Anna's, and Elsa's hands. Fenrick poured from his cask first, and Anna immediately regretted her poor choice of words. She glanced over at Elsa with a small, apologetic smile of regret.

Three rounds of very strong spirits later, the brothers were satisfied that the two royal sisters and the Ice Master had proclaimed all three spirits worthy of representing their lands. Elsa's head spun and her insides burned as her face flushed with the drink. Anna and Kristoff seemed rather composed for three drinks. They were used to drinking Wandering Oaken's own brand of akvavit on their weekends in the mountains. They had always denied that they drank, but the cat was out of the bag. They smiled out of embarrassment as Elsa shot them a look of glaring disapproval through her drunken haze.

Before the brothers could serve up another round, Elsa composed herself. She spoke slowly in hopes to avoid slurring her words, "Thank you Thane Fenrick, Thane Renick and Thane Genick for those wonderful samples, but I will have to decline another round and excuse myself for some fresh air. Though I'm sure my sister and her fiance would love another." Elsa smiled coldly, her eyes half-lidded, and her vision jarred in and out of focus. She excused herself with a nod and left her sister to deal with the brothers.

Elsa did her best to make her way over to the edge of the ball room. She moved as gracefully through the crowd of dignitaries as she could while the world shook underneath her feet. She cursed ancestors left and right in her thoughts. She cursed the Thanes' ancestors for making such a strong drink and her own ancestors for not being better drinkers.

The world shifted too quickly during one step, and she tripped and fell into a body whose arms were swift to catch the queen. Elsa swore under her breathe. She had most likely run into someone important, spoiled the whole evening, and undoubtedly lost another trade partner for Arendelle. She hiccuped involuntarily, swore again in her swimming head, and covered her mouth with her hand as she looked up at the owner of the arms.

A pair of worried amber eyes met hers. Elsa's blush deepened slightly as she jerked herself away from the touch. The amber eyes grew darker with worry. They belonged to what Elsa assumed was dignitary who dressed in a mat black coat, stitched in geometric patterns with glossy black thread. The coat was mid-thigh length, which gave way to wide half-circle panels of ivory silk that ran to the knees of flared black pants. A wide ornate, burnt orange sash wound around the dignitary's middle, its edges fringed with faded gold and its ends tucked in front and hung-all of which were askewed and disheveled thanks to Elsa.

"Are you all right, your majesty?" the dignitary asked with a voice low and husky like an autumnal breeze. A small tinge of a rich accent told Elsa that the supposed dignitary was from somewhere in the South. The high quality of the fabric and the dark skin tone indicated somewhere in the East. Where exactly did not come to mind.

"Yes, yes, I apologize. I seem to have tripped over my own feet," Elsa replied hastily. She wrung her hands and took a step back.

The dignitary stood ready to catch with arms still out-stretched and watched the young queen steady herself. When Elsa was stable, the dignitary started to straightened out the disheveled attire.

"No need to apologize, Queen Elsa." The dignitary chuckled. "We all lose track of our feet sometimes. Better to lose our feet than our heads."

Elsa let go a small sigh of relief, and she released the vice-like grip her hands had on each other. She relaxed and folded them in front of her. She was thankful she ran into a kind soul.

She offered an apologetic smile. The dignitary smiled back reassuringly and straightened the scarlet head scarf, which hid all but beautifully sun-drenched skin and a crop of thick, black, wavy hair that was peppered with single strands of silver.

Elsa looked away and moved closer to the wall. Their shared corner of the ballroom was decidedly deserted. Most of the guests gravitated toward each other, drawn by power, vanity, or the urgent need for approval from strangers. Elsa was relieved to be more or less alone to wait out the spirits that made her head swim and her face uncomfortably warm.

She looked to her side to see the dignitary with two champagne flutes just taken from a servant. One of which was held before her. It was filled with ice and a dark liquid.

"Oh, thank you, but I believe I have had more than enough tonight." She gestured to the glass.

"It's not alcohol, your majesty. It is just tea over ice." The dignitary blinked.

Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"I don't drink very much, so I asked for this instead," the dignitary admitted rather sheepishly. "The staff gave me the same look, but trust me, it will help."

After a moment, Elsa gingerly took the glass and smelled it before she took a sip. It was indeed tea, and it was rather refreshing. She took several more small sips, thankful that the flush in her cheeks began to cool.

A comfortable silence fell between them as the fog of alcohol began to fade from Elsa's mind. Every now and again, she stole glances at the dignitary in her company. She waited for some sort of grand introduction as the prince of somewhere or something. It never came.

Elsa couldn't help but notice the white scar on the dignitary's sun-drenched skin. One thick, jagged line ran perpendicular to pale lip lines. The scar ended at the edge of the chin, noticeable, though it did little to disfigure the dignitary's smile or youthfulness. Somehow it added. Added to what?

The dignitary caught Elsa's half-lidded and unfocused eyes drunkenly leering. Elsa's head spun so quickly, her neck cracked. The silence twisted into something embarrassing.

"I-ah-never thought to see so many young men here. Especially so many from so far away. The princes of Sitam and Quaristan are both here. Oh, and the Shah of Bhur-Tun is here as well," the dignitary said and pointed out each one.

"We didn't really expect them. We had initially sent out announcements to neighboring countries and to allies, but so many had shown up from so far that it seemed rude to refuse them. I suppose most of them saw an opportunity," Elsa stated plainly.

The dignitary's head cocked with curiosity.

"I am not married or engaged," Elsa explained.

"So are many other young women."

"Many other young women do not possess magic in addition to being single and a queen."

Elsa looked out into the dance floor. Everyone knew who she was, Queen Elsa the First of Arendelle, and what she was, the infamous Snow Queen-the Incarnation of Winter itself. She was the epitome of power. Songs already remembered her as beautiful, dangerous, and cold. It was no surprise when the proposal letters came after her coronation, but the flood of suitors that showed up at the gates was exhausting. Despite their proclamations of love, they either wanted a kingdom to rule, a debt repaid, a trophy to boast about, or a weapon to add to their armada.

The dignitary snapped Elsa out of her thoughts.

"Ahhh. How political of them," the dignitary noted with contempt.

Elsa turned to the dignitary, amazed at such a statement from an official. "That is rather bold of you to say."

"I'm sorry, your Majesty, but it seems rather rude that they come uninvited, graciously accepted by your hospitality, and all they can think is to fly their banners and try to claim you like a new piece of land." The dignitary grimaced.

"Careful, you are counted among the horde of suitors. Any man of land, title, wealth, or blood seems to be here." Elsa countered, and a sly, drunken grin tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"I am afraid, your Majesty, that I have no land, title, or wealth that would qualify me as a suitor. Plus, I did not bring a banner." Playfulness spread across the dignitary's handsome features.

"What makes you think I'm not attempting a banner of my own?" Elsa's liquid courage was still on her breath with those runaway words.

"Please, your Majesty, let me drink something stronger before we continue with talks of claiming lands and planting banners." The dignitary's eyebrows waggled.

The two shared flushed bout of laughter. Their grins remained after their mirth died until a small wince came to Elsa's mouth by manner of an intrusive tinge of truth.

Elsa was not sure what to say to that is how it is. Something or someone to claim, she thought. Marriage prospects among royalty usually ended up as some form of exchange. Companionship was hardly considered beyond tolerance and occasional consummation. Her eyebrows furrowed at the uncomfortable thought.

The warmth of the atmosphere between them died, and it gave way to a brooding silence. The sullen mood mixed with embarrassment at the thought that Elsa just drunkenly flirted with a possible suitor. T_hirteen years from social contact, three years into freedom and you get drunk and start flirting with some stranger. Gods, Elsa, maybe you should have stayed there._

"I had heard you possessed magic. What they say about it, about you, really don't do you justice," the dignitary mused.

Elsa kept her face forward. The dignitary shifted weight from the right leg to the left and angled toward Elsa.

"I, uh, do a bit of magic myself. Nothing like yours, of course. If anything, I dabble, but alchemy seems to be a speciality. Well, a sort of alchemy."

Elsa was unimpressed so far but retained an appearance of polite interest.

"I can change dirt into precious metals," the dignitary explained and stepped forward to peer just behind Elsa. "In fact, I see some behind your ear, if I may." The suitor waited a moment and reached a hand out to the spot just behind Elsa's right ear. Elsa cringed slightly, only to have the hand not touch her at all, and it instead pulled back and revealed a gold coin between her thumb and forefinger.

Elsa looked at the coin, then back at the dignitary. Really? she thought. This old trick? Her face wrinkled in disapproval.

The dignitary smiled and coiled back a bit. "Ah, of course you don't believe that. How could there have been dirt behind a queen's ear?" the dignitary continued, arms crossed. The suitor tapped the lip scar and ran a tongue in a closed mouth over teeth. "Only the common people like me could possibly have dirt. Speaking of which, embarrassing as it is to admit, I think there is something in my teeth. Do you mind looking?"

The dignitary smiled comically wide to reveal a line of silver coins in front of large teeth. Elsa's hand quickly shot up to cover the loud snort she made.

"Theressomethingthereisnthere?" the dignitary mumbled behind the metal smile. Elsa laughed through tight lips, and her companion turned away to spit out the coins without her majesty seeing.

"Come to think of it, I feel like there is a lot of dust in my hair." The dignitary ran an empty hand through the crop of black hair and shook. A shower of copper coins rained into the same hand that held the silver coins. Elsa almost lost her composure at the sight. Her split sides still hurt when the dignitary finished the act with a handful of copper, silver coins, and the one gold coin. They both chuckled as the coins were put into a small leather purse. The dignitary motioned for a nearby servant with a tray of drinks to come near. The young woman nearly tripped and dropped the tray as she made her way over. She curtsied to both Elsa and the dignitary.

"Sorry, I hate to bother you, but what is your name?" the dignitary asked with a smile.

"Heidi, your-uh-my lord. Sir," the girl squeaked as she blushed and recoiled. "Sorry, sir."

"You don't have to apologize, Miss Heidi. I'm in no position above you. Are you new tonight?"

Heidi nodded. She was hired three months prior and was just a month shy of turning eighteen. She was a sweet, albeit nervous young woman with chestnut hair. Elsa was familiar with the girl.

"Well, I know you and all the wait staff are all busy, but could you get another round of tea over ice for two, please?" The dignitary put her and Elsa's empty glasses and the small purse filled with the coins on the tray of drinks. Elsa looked on as the servant's eyes brightened before she nodded, curtsied once more, and turned for the kitchens.

"That was generous of you," Elsa remarked.

The dignitary looked confused. "I thought Northerners always tip wait staff?"

"They are all paid a little extra for working events like these, but no. Most people don't tip. At least, not in my experience."

"Huh. I was in the Southern Isles once, and they tip over there. I didn't know and failed to tip a bar maid. She screamed that everyone in the North she hit me square in the throat."

_I'm pretty sure that's just the Southern Isles hospitality they were so renowned for._ Elsa opened her mouth to vocalize the thought but was interrupted by her name being called.

"Elsa! " Anna pushed through the crowd of party guests with Kristoff in tow behind her, a lazy smile plastered haphazardly across her features. How Anna stayed upright while intoxicated was a miracle more interesting than creating snow out of thin air. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad. I don't know what I was thinking, with the Thanes..." Anna rambled and swayed between coherence and incoherency. "I'm sorry, Elsa. Please don't be mad at me. I'm like your best friend. I'm sorry, and I love you."

"Anna, I'm not mad. We can talk about it later. Thank you for talking with the Thanes for me," Elsa said quickly. Anna swayed a bit in her hips and turned her attention to the dignitary.  
"Oh, you there you are Noor! I was hoping you would come. I trust the guards didn't give you any trouble?"

Noor bowed respectfully to Anna. "No, they did not, Princess Anna. Thank you very much for the invitation for tonight. Its a beautiful affair."

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Noor?"

Kristoff laughed. "Wait, wait. This is the Noor you were talking about?" His eyes lit up.

Noor grinned excitedly "Kris? You're the Ice Master Kristoff?" She reared her head back and chortled. The two old friends came together in a massive bear hug and slapped each other's backs heartily.

"Jeez, Kristoff, look at you!" Noor pulled back from the hug and gave Kristoff a once over. "No wonder I didn't recognize you! I mistook you for some landed gent, not the pungent reindeer king I was used to."

Kristoff hooked his arm around Noor's neck and pulled his friend down to muss up the headscarf playfully.

"Oh, like you can talk, Miss, 'It's only a twenty-foot drop.'"

Elsa's eyes snapped open. "You're a woman," the words slipped from her mouth. Three sets of eyes turned to her and blinked.

Noor stretched out her arms and inspected herself. She smiled with a cocked brow. "I think so, your Majesty." She rubbed her sharp jawline and chuckled. "I guess I haven't shaved in a while. The beard must have thrown you off. Do you think I should grow it out?"

_I never did like beards. Dear god what am I thinking?_

"Oh, Elsa! I'm so sorry. I forgot to introduce her properly. Queen Elsa, your Majesty," she giggled through her serious tone, "may I introduce Noor of…" Anna trailed off and looked to Noor for the answer.

Noor drew her head back a little. "Ah well, I guess a more proper name is _Qutaylah Noor al-Azarin,_" she said in a smooth flourish of her tongue, and the words came like a poem.

Elsa exhaled in hopes of quelling the fire under her skin. Language proficiency was always a decidedly enjoyable thing to Elsa.

"But you can just call me Noor of Azari."

Azari. The name stuck in Elsa's mind as the conversation went on. It was an old empire in the South that stretched all the way from the Last Coasts of the West to the Gateways to the East. It was comprised of eleven former kingdoms united by a single, ruling dynasty that had been in power since the empire's conception and had made it all the way to its 36th generation in power. Facts slowly returned to Elsa from her childhood of reading about foreign countries. Azari was an established empire when Arendelle was still a loose association of Northern raiding clans. They hadn't been involved much since then, let alone sent a visitor this far north, dignitary or not.

"-the medal wasn't necessary." Elsa snapped to attention away from her thoughts. She looked to where Noor was pointing-at a lone silver medal pinned to Noor's coat. It bore her own, personal sigil, her own snowflake engraved on the medal with Arendelle's royal crocus suspended by a ribbon of green and violet. Elsa looked over to her sister to wordlessly ask why Noor had a medal.

Anna waved her off and giggled. "Oh, nonsense! Of course it was necessary. You helped me out of a tight spot the other day." Elsa's brows knitted as she thought back. She couldn't remember the details from the story Anna told her yesterday, but it involved property damage and several monetary apologies.

"I caught a pig." Noor deadpanned. Of course it involved a pig, Elsa thought.

"And prevented that stand from falling over on me," Anna continued feistily. _With your record, you caused it to almost fall on you_, her older sister thought. "Granted, I kinda caused it to fall." Called it.

"I prevented it from falling on me, your highness. I shoved the pig in your arms and caught that stand. It was no big deal." Noor's eyes darted, desperate for an exit from the discussion.

"It was a two story, solid pine stand. It takes three men alone to stand those things up!"

"I have a sailor's back and a plow horse's legs. It was nothing, really. Excuse my boldness, but I don't really deserve the medal." Noor removed it gently and held it back to Anna.

_Anna and I need to have a talk about medals._ Noor had saved Anna from injury, but Elsa knew how carried away Anna could get if she continued passing out medals like they were candy.

"Please, you were a service to Arendelle and the Royal family. The medal was necessary." Anna pushed the medal back to Noor.

"But-"

"No buts, no exchanges, and no returns. Crown princess's orders." Anna held firm. Noor looked, exasperated, from Anna to Kristoff.

Kristoff pointed to his own Ice Master medal that hung around his neck. "You might as well keep it at this point because she's never taking it back. Trust me. I've tried."

Noor thought for a moment and ran the tips of her fingers across the silver medal. She sighed and said, "For you your highness, I will keep it. Thank you for your generosity." Anna nodded back at Noor, pleased with herself.

Anna and Kristoff laughed, though the whiskey still colored their mirth. Elsa weakly joined in hopes of dissipating her embarrassment.

"How's it living up North for you now Noor?" Kristoff asked. "I remember you telling me that it's extremely hot where you're from."

"Its not that hot all the time but the summers are hellish. Up here in the North, there's hardly any sand to get stuck in otherwise uncomfortable areas." Noor smiled. "Here the summers are kind, the springs are sensational, the autumns are hospitable, and the winters are beautiful. The people are even more so. " Noor caught Elsa's eyes and winked.

_You're blushing, Elsa. These are the consequences of drinking and poor social skills._

"So what brings you to Arendelle anyway?" Kristoff asked, his arms crossed.

"Well, I'm a map maker by trade. I do a lot of things for a living, but maps and chart-making have been my specialities. I finished a commission, and I'm in Arendelle to drop it off."

"What was the commission?"

"Maps of Arendelle mostly. Well, one map of Arendelle, a set of maps of Arendelle's provinces like Osil, Aestir, Bethik, et cetera. Then a few of Arendelle's bordering kingdoms. So about twenty-four maps and charts total."

"How long have you been working on that commission?" Anna asked with her hand in the crook of Kristoff's crossed arm.

Noor thought for a moment. "Gods, I haven't even thought about it, honestly. I was seventeen when I got the commission, and I just finished about a month ago. It's been six years since I arrived in the North."

Noor's eyes lost their brilliance for a moment as her hand came to her chin. Her thumb ran over the white scar on her lips. She shook her head and laughed. "Six years for two dozen charts! No wonder I couldn't find my commissioner. They probably assumed I was dead!" Her laughter betrayed a small sense of sadness but was lost in the noise.

The evening continued pleasantly as the four carried on. The alcohol was finally almost out of her system as Elsa continued to smile in her present company. Heidi returned with the two glasses of iced tea, which Elsa gladly took and proceeded to hand one to Noor. Noor and Kristoff caught up on the past few years. They had met a long time ago when Noor was mapping the mountains and foothills some five years ago when she slipped and cracked her head on what turned out to be Kristoff's mother Bulda. Bulda patched up Noor and attempted to fix her up with Kristof. The tellings of Bulda's antics elicited bouts of laughter from everyone except Anna who had to be reassured that Noor and Kristoff were as involved as a stone and a rock together.

After that, Noor and Kristoff enthusiastically traded stories of adventure while trying to upstage the other in regards to danger. They kept Elsa and Anna in the conversation as judges. They asked their opinions on who had faced greater peril. Kristoff was an animated storyteller. He moved his arms and hands to accentuate each piece of the story. Noor, however, was more gifted in storytelling. Her physical movements and vocal variations perfectly accentuated every sentence and added vibrancy and anticipation to every word. Elsa found herself conceding more and more for Noor. She gave half-hearted apologetic smiles and shrugs to Kristoff as Noor pumped her fist in victory.

"-so I finally breached the surface, my lungs finally tasting the sweet air like a newborn child. And as I bobbed in the waves, I looked around and what do I find? There, in the middle of the wreckage, was the blind first mate sitting on what was left of a rowboat with the goat and he said, 'Fine weather we're having aren't we?' "

Anna and Kristoff laughed with tears in their eyes, Elsa covered her mouth, but it did little to suppress the sound of her laughter. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and caught Noor's beaming gaze. Both of their eyes darted from the contact out of embarrassment and both came back and made it again.

"Excuse me for a moment. I need to see about that iced tea." Noor bowed and turned to exit the ballroom. Elsa watched her go without even realizing it. A grin spread shyly across her features.

A small tap on her shoulder made her turn to face Kai, whose face was gravely concerned. He bowed before speaking.

"Excuse me, your Majesty. I hate to bother you, but the Imperial Crown Prince of Ursur and his brother wish for an audience with you."

Elsa sighed for a moment before she nodded to Kai to accept the request. She mentally prepared herself as she rubbed her hands together. Her magic rubbed into the palms of her hands and comforted her in its chill and power. Ursur was a country that did not take rejection lightly. It was a powerful country, but so was she. She looked to Anna. Anna nodded confidently to Elsa, and she breathed in, held it, and let it go slowly to cue her sister follow in suit. With a thumbs up from her sister, Elsa smiled and turned to receive the two brothers more ready and self-assured than ever before.

Her glacial eyes widened open as she felt it.

Somehow, the room felt warmer.


	3. Chapter 3

_**AUTHORS NOTE: Sorry. Sorrysorrysorry. I have been busy with college finals, graduation, moving back and dealing with my fun filled family and I am sorry. This chapter was hard to right because my brain shut down like a motherfucker after graduation. **_

_**Anyway, I already started working on the next chapter so hopefully I can get that done by next week. Sorry again, I hope close to 8k words makes up for it. **_

_**Please review. Its how I learn if you like it or not. Thanks for the read. **_

"Your Majesty and Your Highness, may I introduce his Imperial Highness, Crown Prince Sitric of Ursur and and his younger brother His Highness, Prince Dmitri of Ursur." Kai proclaimed as he stood to the side of two men.

The two brothers stood and towered two heads above Elsa. They both wore double breasted red military uniforms with black fur capes slung over opposite shoulders. The elder brother's was heavy with medals and the younger only had a simple blue sash across the chest. They clicked their boots together and bowed in unison.

Both Elsa and Anna nodded to the princes and put on their best imitations of blithe appearances. The eldest brother had a finely trimmed black beard and an exuberant pride that overwhelmed his features. The youngest brother was clean shaven with his black hair slicked back, his eyes world weary and tired. Elsa sympathized, he didn't want to be here anymore than Elsa did. However the eldest brother, Sitric, was all too pleased, his cheeks red and eyes predatory.

"Queen Elsa, on behalf of my father His Imperial Majesty, Czar Ivanislav of House Rychekanov, Lord and Protector of All of Ursur, I wish you and your kingdom a happy celebration of the anniversary of your sovereignty. " Prince Sitric said through a thick accent as he reached and grabbed Elsa's hand and kissed it hard. Elsa felt her skin crawl. The fine airs on her body stood up when she felt saliva from the kiss on her knuckles and the scratches from the prickly beard.

_I __**really **__don't like beards. _Elsa thought to herself.

Prince Dmitri rolled his eyes at his elder brother. Sitric let go and Elsa withdrew her hand quickly. Her nose crinkled at the sharp smell of grain alcohol that now emanated from it and she strained to keep the regal smile on her face. Anna could smell it too and tensed. Kristoff coughed at the aroma. Elsa felt dread seep into her chest.

Drunkenness and diplomatic relations never boded well for anyone, but with Ursurians it always spelled disaster in one form or another. One misspoken word decades ago was how Ursur was able to double their empire, how several kingdoms lost their independence and how a few royal families were otherwise disposed. Elsa wished for the Triplets of Scor & Ire again, at least they were a friendly sort of aggressive and could take everything in stride.

"Arendelle thanks you and Ursur for your well wishes, Prince Sitric." Elsa said regally. The prince smirked, his eyes unfocused but intent on Elsa. Anna's eyes darted between the two princes, seeing Prince Dmitri for the most part ignored her and Elsa. He instead remained alert to his brother's movements and was careful not to catch his eyes. He caught Anna's gaze and blinked a look of _please forgive what happens in the next hour or so. _Anna blinked back in suppressed disgust.

"Arendelle and its beautiful queen are always welcome to what Imperial Ursur and its lands have to offer, your majesty." Sitric slurred, his brows cocked salaciously "Politics, business or otherwise..."

Elsa felt the bile at the back of her throat but swallowed it. She would never let the disgust on her face show. Her eyes became hard and commanding. She forbid herself to show the prince an ounce of what he may mistake as affection.

"In fact, I have gifts for you and your family from Ursur to show our gratitude for our mutual friendship." Sitric snapped his fingers and three of his entourage behind him shuffled forward with three bundles. "To Christopher-"

"Kristoff." Anna corrected, her tone unamused.

"-I present you these cloaks to keep you warm while you harvest ice for a Snow Queen." Sitric continued. Kristoff took the package offered to him and inspected it. They weren't cloaks but old horse blankets, still smelling of beasts and dirt. He held his tongue against the insult.

"To Princess Anya," Prince Sitric continued.

"Anna" Kristoff muttered under his breath. Prince Dmitri pinched the bridge of his nose to conceal embarrassment for his brother.

"-I present this wonderful fashion straight from our capital of Kievisburg."

Another one of the prince's entourage came forth with a wrapped box. Anna took it and thanked the man. She opened it to reveal a gaudy pair of high heeled shoes in a shade of green that could only be found in piles of vomit. Anna's face paled slightly and Elsa knew what she thought of them. _Ugly death traps, four sizes too small._ Elsa couldn't have agreed more.

Anna smiled as best she could through her terror at the gift.

"Thank you Prince Sitric...they are lovely..." Anna trailed off. Prince Sitric did not notice and in all honesty did not care.

"And to the lovely Snow Queen of Arendelle herself I present this gift" Prince Sitric bowed dramatically and ushered another member of his entourage forward. The nervous young man bowed before Elsa and presented a box smaller than the palm of his hand.

Elsa paused before taking it. The dread in her chest spiked and suck itself deeper into her guts. She had a hunch at what it was. She hoped that it wasn't what she thought. She took it and looked to a still smirking Prince Sitric.

"From the mines of our Northern most provinces, I present to you, your Majesty Queen Elsa of Arendelle, the Snow Queen herself a small taste-" the Prince swaggered and stopped a few feet in front of Elsa. Elsa almost stepped back but stood her ground. "-of what I have to offer you and your people."

Elsa glanced down at the box to avoid the Prince's eyes that threatened to burn a hole in her. He became impatient and reached forward with a massive hand. He used two fingers and opened the small box with a snap. Inside was an adorned gold ring, heavily set with shimmering gems. All of them shades of red and white.

_Of course it's a ring. Damn it. Goddamn it all. _Elsa could not meet the prince in the eyes. She feared she would betray a weakness somewhere in her features. Anna gawked for a moment at the ring only to snap her eyes to Prince Dmitri. Dmitri met her eyes and sighed as he shook his head. She could hear him apologize without words. Anna moved to be beside Elsa on her right. She stared at the Crown Prince who threatened to encroach further past where he was already not welcome.

"I've never seen anything like it, Prince Sitric. " Elsa said tightly.

"They are diamonds. The white ones are perfect and represent wealth. The red are the rarest and represent power. Both of which, I can personally offer you Elsa." Prince Sitric stepped forward and pushed Anna to the side with his arm, careful not to be too rough. Elsa let the ice in her veins prickle. The dread in her gut stopped its descent. The frost had begun to gather at her feet. It spread from her fingertips to pool in the palm of her hands. She strained not to let the ice envelop the ring box in her hands. Her gaze turned as icy as the Ninth Circle of Hell. _Touch my sister again and frostbite will be the least of your worries_, she mentally spat. The air was frigid between Elsa and the Crown Prince who advanced undeterred, to place his face mere inches from her. Her dangerous eyes met his. The silence was maddening as Elsa waited for the moment to send this drunken Ursurian bastard out into the cold. Damn the consequences, damn this asshole and his empire.

A long whistle broke the tension in the air. Elsa snapped out of her silent rage to see Noor on her left, now holding the ring gingerly between her thumb and fore finger. She held it up to the light, turned it over and inspected it from all angles. After a moment, she nodded and wore an exaggerated look of being impressed. Noor breathed out and looked to Elsa with a small smile. Elsa swore she saw a wink. _I got this don't worry _Noor's smile seemed to say.

"That is some ring isn't it your Majesty? Mhmmm." Noor said as she shook her head. She motioned for the frost lined box in Elsa's hands. "May I your Majesty?" She asked.

Elsa handed the box over to Noor who took it without paying mind to the frost and placed the ring back into its perch inside of it. Without looking away from the ring, she asked the Crown Prince harmlessly. "From the Northernmost provinces of Ursur? That would be the Atuk and the Cherno provinces am I right, Prince Sitric?"

Prince Sitric pulled away from Elsa and looked to the woman on her left. "Yes but how-" he began only to have Noor cut him off.

"I thought as much." Noor said curtly. She turned to Elsa with a smile. "The Atuk and Cherno mines are known for these beautiful gems they produce. Sad about the miners that work them though." She snapped the box shut and handed it back to Elsa. "The shafts are so small that only children can work them. In fact, rumor has it that the red diamonds are made when a child dies in the mines. Needless to say, the more they dig in those frigid mines, the more these red diamonds keep showing up."

Noor smiled tightly as she looked into Elsa's eyes. "Good to know to the Crown Prince, children's lives are cheap."

"Who are you?" The Crown Prince spat at Noor.

"No one of particular importance your grace. Just a passerby who was humbly graced with an invitation to tonight's wonderful affair." She took a bite of a pastry she had in her left hand. She hummed in delight. "Have you tried these little delights ? They are absolutely wonderful. Your highness, Princess Anna I do have to ask, what are these little cones of heavenly goodness called again?"

Anna stared slightly dumbfounded at Noor's blatant audacity. "Krumkake with some ligonberry in the cream." She squeaked. Noor hummed pleasantly as she finished the dessert seemingly unaware of the panicked eyes on her.

"You know Prince Sitric, not to poo-poo your-" she waved her hand forward to summon a word "-style but if you want to propose to a woman, offer her something sweet and not drenched in the blood and agony of children." Noor said through a mouthful as she waved a finger. "That advice alone will probably get you a lot further."

Kristoff choked on what could have either been a laugh or a cough. Elsa felt her jaw hanging as Noor wiped her thumb over her lips and sucked on it briefly for the residue of crumbs and cream. Noor looked around finally to see a disbelieving Kristoff, a dumbfounded Anna, two shocked Princes of Ursur and a speechless Elsa staring at her.

"Don't worry, Miss Heidi assured me there was plenty more." Noor sipped from her glass nonchalantly.

"You insolent little cur." Prince Sitric said through ground teeth, his voice was on the edge of losing control. "Who are you, what is your name?" He turned to tower over Noor.

Noor ran a tongue over her teeth unimpressed and unshaken. " Another tip, don't try to intimidate the object of your affections' party guests. That's usually the first thing you learn in etiquette classes but I suppose you must have missed that day. Or the class entirely." Noor shrugged.

Elsa kept a hand over her mouth to hide the shameful smile she had thanks to Noor's verbal rounding of the rude Ursurian Prince. She heard a snort from Prince Dmitri who cleared his throat before his elder brother snarled at him.

"Come now, your Imperial Highness, surely you must have some sense of humor in that massive body of yours. I am only joking. Please don't take it too seriously." Noor chuckled as she raised her glass to her lips to hide a satisfied grin. Prince Sitric whirled and smacked the glass out of her hand. It flew and crashed into the ground.

The music died a little as the ballroom's attention shifted to the scene unfolding. Noor's grin straightened to a knife's edge and her once soft eyes turned hard and jagged. Kristoff moved between the two with his hands raised.

"Please Your Highness, I apologize on behalf of my friend. When she gets a few drinks in her she just kinda spouts a bunch of nonsense." Kristoff said quickly trying to calm the situation.

Prince Sitric looked over the top of Kristoff's head and stared daggers at Noor.

"I'll ask one more time before I will have it beaten out of you. Who are you?" The Prince spat. He moved to be in front of Noor once more. His frame heaved with each breath in rage.

Noor, without so much as a flinch, stared right back into the prince's eyes. Elsa moved to aid Kristoff but stopped. She saw a whisper of her own breath hanging for a moment in the air. Her eyes went wide when she realized that the room felt warmer. Her mind raced for an explanation. Anna caught her sister's look of confusion and tried to understand what she was so shocked about.

"If you must know, my name is Qutaylah Noor of Azari."

The Crown Prince smiled through his rage. "Noor of Azari?" Elsa flashed her eyes to Prince Dmitri. His eyes had lit up from the sound of the name and were now trained on Noor. "That name sounds so familiar."

Noor looked away. "Its a popular name where I am from."

"Well isn't that a coincidence. I remember a person by the name of Noor. Tall, dark skinned woman. Scar on the corner of her lips just like yours."

"Uh huh." Noor's face did not betray anything.

"I have been looking for this _Noor_ for a long time." Sitric snarled.

Noor straightened her lips and chewed at scar on her lips. "That's a very general description for someone. But I will surely let you know if I find anyone matching that." She said tightly.

"Oh I can get more descriptive."

"Do tell Prince Sitric. I do love these sorts of games."

Elsa, Kristoff and Anna looked intently between the two. The tension grew in the air. It pooled into almost visible thunderheads.

Prince Sitric cleared his throat. "She is a woman from the Empire of Azari, in the southern lands to the East. She's young but riddled with scars all up and down her arms and one scar on her lips. She is responsible for the sinking of over thirty ships over a 4 year period. This woman is known as the Southern Roar and she's said to be a demon born of hell fire."

"So I have a scar, I am dark skinned and am from Azari. You think that's enough evidence to convince you that I am this 'Southern Roar'?" Noor raised a brow.

"You have dark skin. You said you were Azarin. I don't see too many dark skinned people up in the North where this Southern Roar was last seen.."

"That's hardly a nail in the coffin you are trying to put me in, Prince Sitric."

"What is your business in the North?" Sitric snapped.

Noor raised her chin and puffed out her chest slightly. "I have been on commission. I have been making maps of the area for a number of years."

"Suspicious that someone would commission a foreigner to make maps of Arendelle. Who commissioned you?" Sitric narrowed his eyes.

"A noblewoman. In fact she may be here now. She can vouch for me." Noor replied smugly. She turned to Elsa and bowed slightly. Her eyes were still razor sharp flints of amber. "Your majesty, if it wouldn't be too rude to ask your assistance on this?"

Elsa blinked and cautiously eyed Noor. The heat in the room had disappeared slightly. She gave her consent with a nod.

Noor slipped her hand into the sash around her waist and retrieved a small folded letter with a broken wax seal. "I was commissioned approximately six summers ago by Lady Donea of Citrinia, I was told it was a commonwealth to Arendelle. The commission was for a grand total of 24 maps in exchange for an agreed upon price that is listed here within this contract." She opened it carefully and passed it to Elsa who took it and started to read over it. Anna leaned in and looked over Elsa's shoulder to read it as well.

It was neatly written with water stains and torn at the edges but it was very clearly a contract. Elsa's eyes came to the the two signatures and the wax seal at the end of the document. Sure enough beside a flurry of calligraphy that Elsa assumed was Noor's signature in her native tongue, there was a second signature that read 'Lady Donea of Citrinia'. The wax seal was green with a simple indent of four inward arrows making up a cross. The seal looked familiar but was so generic Elsa dismissed it. Official as it looked Elsa sighed as she folded the paper back up and handed it back to Noor who .

"I am sorry Miss Noor but there is no Lady of Citrinia." Elsa watched Noor's face fall into confusion before she struggled to give the queen a nervous smile.

"Pardon me?"

"Citrinia is a minor island in the seas that lie between Arendelle and Corona. While it is technically a territory of Arendelle, it's no more than a mile wide piece of rock. No one lives there, let alone holds as title over it. Whomever commissioned you lied about who they were." Elsa surprised at the amount of apology she heard in her voice.

Noor's smile faded away and her eyes widened in a panic. She took the paper in Elsa's outstretched hand and searched it frantically. "That can't be."

Prince Sitric clapped Noor roughly on the back, laughing cruelly. "Seems like you are a terrible liar if you cannot lie about a fake noblewoman." He reared his head back and chortled.

"I am no liar you chortling bastard. Do your country and the rest of the world a favor and drown yourself in liquor. " Noor spat with venom in each syllable. Elsa blinked. The already situation had took a turn for the worse.

The Crown Prince's eyes finally focused and he set in jaw in a rage. "I am a Prince of Imperial Ursur, I am to be the next Czar and you would do best to hold your tongue, you insolent little cur." the Crown Prince said through gritted teeth. His younger brother swallowed hard and paled.

"I'm betting that by "hold it" you mean "next word against me and I'll cut it out." If the latter is what you mean, then get one of your guards to do it. If you in your drunken stupor tried, I'm sure you'd cut off my ear by mistake." Noor barked back.

"I will cut off more than that. For example your head from your shoulders."

"Ah now that one I haven't heard before." Noor scoffed. "So glad your capacity for creative thinking hasn't diminished with years of drinking and a familial habit of inbreeding. Tell you what, your _Imperial Highness_, when you think of a way of dispatching me that I _haven't _heard before, then I will gladly go to the gallows with you arm and arm. " Noor glowered.

Elsa stepped forward, alarmed by the escalation. She moved to stop the fight but Sitric snapped his arm. His hand connected with Noor's cheek.

"I challenge you to a duel you daughter of a desert whore. I'll expose you for the liar you are." Sitric barked loudly and made everyone in the vicinity jump and turn. Alarm bells went off in Elsa's mind as she snapped her attention to Noor.

Noor's cheek was angry red and her eyes were sharper than ever, tipped with a stirring and venomous rage. She could cut lesser men to ribbons with those eyes.

She looked to Elsa. Noor's eyes softened as worry washed over her face. She relaxed or at least feigned it well enough to ignore the insults.

"A duel at a celebration is tacky and hardly appropriate, Prince Sitric. Especially at one where both of us are guests." Noor said carefully. She avoided Prince Sitric eyes and stared at his chest.

"Fight. Me. Coward." Prince Sitric said through gritted teeth as he towered over Noor.

Noor kept her eyes down and her posture nonthreatening, but resilient as her jaw moved back and forth. "Your Imperial Highness, I am but a surveyor and a map maker." Her jaw set. "It-it would hardly be fair."

Sitric responded with another slap to Noor's other cheek and grabbed her by the collar with both of his huge hands. "Liar. Fight me here or I will drag you back to Ursur. Either way, I will expose you for who you are" He seethed. His brother Prince Dmitri came up behind him and started speaking quickly in Ursurian, a consonant filled language where the default emotion was anger. Prince Sitric barked back in his native tongue to his brother like a dog asserting its dominance. Dmitri kept his voice low and calm, but even Elsa could tell with the words she caught that the youngest prince was warning his brother urgently. Sitric only barked back with his teeth bared.

Elsa cleared her throat and spoke as smoothly as possible in Ursurian. "_Prince Sitric, Prince Dmitri, please let's be calm about this. There is no need to escalate what has already happened."_

"_Your Majesty,"_ Prince Sitric said through a sickly sweet and patronizing tone. "_This woman is a dangerous outlaw who is undoubtedly here to wreak the same havoc and destruction that she waged for years on my country in the Southern Seas. I cannot bear to see that happen to your fair kingdom."_

"_Prince Sitric, please understand that I appreciate the sentiment but you have no proof that she is who you say she is. As far as I am aware, she has broken no laws and has not disturbed the peace within Arendelle. She has not disturb anyone here either. I see no threat from her." _Elsa straightened and showed no weakness. "_Please understand that I am more than capable of protecting my own country."_

Anna smiled at the command her sister was showing even if she couldn't understand all of what she was saying. Sitric's eye twitched. He was not used to disagreement. "_Obviously if this-this devil has made its way all the way next to you, you could use my help. Please let me dispose of this scum before she can harm you. Let me show you what a prince of Ursur can do. Let me protect you Elsa."_

Elsa's expression turned arctic in his warmth. The air matched. "_Again Prince Sitric, I am __**more**_ _than capable of protecting myself and Arendelle._"

"_Then I will have my honor your Majesty. This woman has insulted me, my family and my country. My customs do not allow for such a volley of insults against my pride to go unpunished. You can not deny me that."_

"_We are not in Ursur, Her Majesty the Queen can deny you anything she wishes." _Noor breathed, her breath fogged in the air, in flawless Ursurian. It was met with a violent jerk from Prince Sitric. Elsa swallowed thickly and rapidly thought of what to do next.

Noor cleared her throat. "Your Majesty, Queen Elsa, your grace. Forgive me, but this situation has reached a point that seems impassable. If it aids you in anyway, please allow me to duel the Prince. He wishes for satisfaction and I am the only one who can give it apparently. I would hate for this to escalate to something that would endanger your country because of what I have done. After all I am only a foreigner in your lands."

Elsa thought for a moment and weighed the heavy choices. Let a duel commence and possibly have a dead foreigner on her hands or not let a duel commence and risk an honor war with a country ten times larger than Arendelle. If Noor was an outlaw, it would matter little if she died in a duel. If Noor wasn't an outlaw, it would matter greatly. Elsa shook herself mentally. Her duty as Queen was to Arendelle and to protect it at all costs. Her late father taught her that sternly. Elsa shuddered at the thought that crossed her mind. _Even if the life of a stranger is what it costs to protect Arendelle._

Elsa exhaled. "If there is an agreement to the duel from both parties, then let it commence." Prince Sitric smiled and released Noor from his grip. He turned and barked orders at his entourage to clear an area in the ballroom as he moved away. Prince Dmitri looked at Elsa and Noor before he bowed and followed his brother. Noor motioned to Heidi who came to Noor's side. Noor whispered something in her ear. Heidi nodded and headed to the coat room.

Anna stepped in front of Elsa. Her eyes were anxious and unsure. "Elsa are you sure this is okay? This may turn out bad. That Prince is out for blood." Elsa couldn't meet Anna's eyes and instead shook her head. "There's little we can do about it now Anna." The air around Elsa grew colder. "This is a nightmare." She whispered.

Noor loosened her orange sash and removed her black coat slowly and when Heidi returned from the coat room, she turned to her with a small smile."Thank you Heidi for retrieving my affects so quickly. " Noor handed Heidi her coat and Heidi handed over a small leather satchel. Noor removed her long white inner robe to reveal a threadbare shirt and a small black vest, its trim similar to the wax seal of the nonexistent Lady of Citrinia.

_I know I have seen that pattern before. _Elsa thought as she tried to place the pattern on the vest's trim. She looked to Anna who bore the same quizzical expression looking at Noor's vest. Anna shrugged.

Noor rummaged around in her satchel and withdrew a scimitar, its scabbard ancient, its original material patched with mismatched leather and cloth. The scimitar's curved handle showed rust on its hooked pommel, the leather wrapping worn as much as the scabbard. She tucked it into the front of her waist sash. Noor handed her last jacket to Heidi and then extracted a small purse from the inside of her vest.

"Miss Heidi, let's make a wager. If I win, you get 20 % of my purse. If I lose, then you get to keep all my affects. In return for your service." Noor said placing the purse on top of the coats in Heidi's arms. Heidi nodded sheepishly and courtesied. Noor flashed her eyes to Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff, her lips pulled tight and thin. "Thank you your Majesty for a wonderful evening. I hope to see you soon. Your Majesty, Your Highness, My Lord." Noor bowed to each of them in turn. She straightened her shoulders and steeled her nerves. She turned and walked to the center of the ballroom to meet her opponent.

"My bet's on the Noor." Kristoff breathed, his experience with fights among ice harvesters, mountaineers and common ruffians shone through in his statement. Anna nodded and replied earnestly with wide eyes "I just hope she can hold her own. Prince Sitric looks like he could kill a bear with his...well bare hands! "

Kristoff shook his head "The prince is huge and he probably has years of military training, but I doubt he has gone up against someone like Noor. That woman is a survivor. And that fact alone will probably be the end of Prince Sitric." Anna swallowed and craned her neck to see better. She took Kristoff by the wrist and lead him to the throne's raised platform to get a better view. Elsa picked up her train and followed them as well, her eyes never leaving the cleared center of the room where the Crown Prince stood.

Noor finally made it to the edge of the circle. The crown prince stood menacingly, a full two heads above Noor. His coat removed showing his proud barreled chest covered by a skin tight burgundy vest and a bright brand new saber in his gloved right hand. He was the living example of his country's reputation. Powerful and always thirsting to prove itself with more.

"Surrender now, whore and maybe I will let you leave with most of your limbs. "He boomed, alcohol still on his breath. His massive forearms rippled muscle as he flexed his fingers.

Noor ignored the prince and cleared her throat so everyone could hear her speak. "Standard rules. Two people, in this case one woman and one boy" She motioned to the prince at the last word "enter with weapons previously decided upon and fight until one yields or one falls dead by the other's hand. No party outside of the two duelists, involved directly or indirectly will be held responsible for any possible outcome of the duel. " Noor explained, her words dry and tight.

Elsa's mind paused. _She knows those rules like the back of her hand. Has she dueled formerly before?_

The prince waved as he stepped forward. He swept his blade across the hardwood floor, the steel ringing through the hushed hall. Elsa prickled as she saw the blade leaving cuts into the once flawless oak. Anna wished for Noor's victory under her breath loud enough for Elsa to hear it. Through his thick black beard, the prince sneered. "Yes, yes I know the rules." He strode across the dueling area, his steps picking up speed as Noor stood deadly calm. She rolled her shoulders as she shifted weight carefully on the balls of her feet.

The Crown Prince charged. He grunted savagely as he swung, his steel flashing like lightning with three expert cuts.

Noor pivoted and dodged each cut. Her movements were fluid and her steps pantherlike. Prince Sitric attacked again, his swings hard, fast and wide. Noor's sword remained in its scabbard as she moved around the prince. She found his back every time as though she was his shadow. The more the Prince swung, thrust and slashed the more frustrated he became. A final slash caught Noor's left arm at the bicep. It cut through linen and skin and blood blossomed and ran scarlet streams down. The sight of blood made Prince Sitric's eyes shimmer with thirst for more. He roared as swung his fist full circle. It connected soundly with Noor's cheek.

The crowd gasped as they heard the crack of fist against flesh, Noor was flung back from the force of the blow, skidding across the floor. Anna lurched forward, to crane over the bystanders on the throne's platform. Elsa bit her lip and covered her mouth. She stood ready to stop the fight at any moment.

Noor briefly inspected the cut on her bicep. It was skin deep but the blood already soaked through the sleeve as it hung by threads. She tore it off. Elsa felt herself take a sharp intake of air fill her lungs and heard Anna do the same. Elsa saw a riddling of white scars all over sun drenched skin, more like battle worn armor than flesh. Kristoff looked dumbfounded but not shocked to see his old friend like that. Murmurs ran through the ballroom as people paid more attention to the young woman in the center of the room.

Thoughts went off like gunshots in Elsa's mind.

_She's young but riddled with scars all up and down her arms and one scar on her lips.. responsible for the looting and sinking of over thirty ships over a 4 year period...The Southern Roar...The end of Prince Sitric. _Elsa added that last part and immediately felt dread wash over her. If the Prince was injured in anyway, Arendelle would catch hellfire for it.

Noor snapped to her feet as the prince charged again, his footfalls like booming thunder. He swung his sword aiming for Noor's head. It was blocked, eliciting an ear shattering clang and sending sparks everywhere. Noor had finally drew her sword and held it in her left hand as she parried the prince. The prince let a wicked laugh escape his gritted teeth.

"A sword befitting of your stature." Sitric sneered. Noor's scimitar was blackened and old, broken halfway and ready to fall apart to dust given a hard enough strike. The room shifted uncomfortably, hushed whispers among the crowd. Elsa swallowed hard, and felt Anna shaky grasp latch onto her arm. Only Kristoff stood confident in Noor. Old sword or not. He placed a hand to steady Anna's shoulder, not looking away from the action as he whispered "Just wait. This girl is a fighter. "

Elsa turned back from Kristoff to hear Sitric charge again, his saber flashing. Noor ducked and weaved finding the perfect opening and drove the pommel of her sword hard into Sitric's gut. Sitric choked on bile as he swung his sword wildly, desperate to connect to with anything. Noor bobbed and back stepped quickly. Her foot flew up and kicked the crown prince square in the gut again, sending him reeling on his heels. Another kick, this one to the face, knocked the prince off his feet and hit the ballroom floor with a huge crash. Some gasps escaped from the crowd and even a few cheers.

The Crown Prince shoved away his brother's helping hands and he scrambled to his feet. He gripped his saber with both hands and charged again. His swings were dodged and countered. He threw an elbow to Noor's head and Noor's head snapped back from the force.

Noor's face twisted, once smiling teeth now bared fangs. Amber eyes dulled with old rage, rage that lasted far longer than it ever should have. The prince struggled to his feet, his broken nose now gushing blood on to his proud uniform and the rose mailed floor. He gripped his saber tighter than ever as he glowered at. In a cry he rushed forward swinging wildly at Noor. The blade rang and sung through the air as Noor dodged each swing. The prince thrust, anxious to cease his embarrassment. Noor sidestepped to the outside easily, her right hand reached and grabbed the prince's out thrust wrist. Staring straight into the prince's eyes without a shred of reachable humanity, she jammed the pommel of her scimitar upwards into the prince's sword arm's elbow. It broke with a sick gush of blood and crunch of bone.

The crowd gasped as the prince howled in pain at the exposed bone, his saber clanged against the ballroom floor. Noor's gripe on his wrist remained tight as she cocked her hips and savagely kicked the prince in the ribs repeatedly, the snaps of broken ribs and the sputterings of blood choked gasps made even the battle hardened men in the room cringe.

With a final blow from the back of her hand, Noor released the now broken prince's ruined arm. His body fly back from the force. A sickening thud echoed through the hall as the prince slammed against the hardwood and coughed more blood onto the floor. Eyes flashed to Noor who had picked up the prince's saber. She inspected the cut on her arm once more and then turned her gaze back to the prince who struggled to get to his feet. Noor pivoted on her foot and moved to exit the dueling circle. Prince Sitric struggled to his feet. His body shook with pain and rage as he reached his good hand into his vest and withdrew a pistol.

A collective surge of panic ran through the crowd when the Crown Prince cocked back the hammer and shakily aimed it at Noor. Anna stepped forward in shock, Elsa held her back in fear. Frost had begun to spread on the floor and up the hall's columns. Breathes were seen and held as Elsa moved forward. _He could kill her, he could kill her, _Elsa repeated frantically in her mind as she moved forward past Anna to stop the impending blood spilling. She froze when she realized she and Anna were in the path of the bullet. Elsa thought quickly.

Noor whirled and the gun went off. Elsa conjured an ice wall around the duelling area. Noor's sword flashed as cries of terror erupted from the crowd. The sword cut the barrel in two as the shot went into the ball room ceiling. The crowd gasped as they looked to the spontaneously flaming sword in Noor's hand. Flames crept up her sleeve but she remained unfazed and unburned as they ate away the cloth. Smoke seethed from between her teeth.

Elsa gasped as Noor ran her hand against the blunt edge of her sword. Orange and yellow flames gathered in her hand. Noor reared back and slammed her flaming fist in an uppercut on the Crown Prince's jaw. Teeth broke as his beard was singed and burned. The prince fell a final time to the floor, defeated.

To everyone's surprise, Noor knelt down and brought her face closer to the prince's. She looked him straight in the eye. She pressed his own saber harder on his throat. Her own sword no longer blazed but still glowed with quiet flames.

"As rule states, your life is now forfeit. I could kill you now and end your shame at being bested by a map maker" Noor said calmly. The prince shuddered and coughed. "But I won't. Instead, I will take your sword and your word. So before you pass out from shock, hear me. When you awake, you will apologize to the Queen and the Crown Princess for your boorish behavior. You will not make an incident of this manner to the Queen, her family, her country or her people. In addition to your apology, you will pay 8000 pieces of gold and surrender the flag ship of your personal fleet as apology gifts to her majesty, Queen Elsa of Arendelle. You will not argue or contest or try to weasel your way out of it. " She shook the prince in a violent jerk. "If you do not follow through with your apology in its entirety, I will take what I have earned today in this duel."

Prince Sitric spat blood into Noor's unflinching face. Noor kept the blade on his throat as she pressed her boot on to Sitric's broken elbow. His scream gurgled in his mouth through the blood.

"I." Noor's voice came out like steel on slate as she pressed down with her boot again the blade in her hand glowing red hot "AM" putting more weight on her foot, the blade sizzling against skin "NOT" the crown writhed on the floor screaming, the smell of burnt flesh rising "FUCKING" his eyes rolled back into his head "AROUND." Her voice reverberated in the silent and frightened hall.

The prince whimpered. Noor's voice became smooth and low again. "Do you swear to keep your promise?" The prince whimpered and nodded again, "I swear on my life." He sputtered out, blood still flowing from his wounds.

Noor lifted the white hot saber's point from the prince's throat, stood and stepped away from the defeated royal. The sword cooled as she spoke clearly. "For your little outburst just now, in addition to your apology to Her Majesty the Queen of Arendelle and her family-" Noor snapped her fingers at one of Prince Sitric's entourage, the one who held his master's medal laden coat and fur cape. He ran over to Noor who snatched the items from his hands, placed them in the crook of her sword arm and dismissed him with a jut of her hand. "-I am taking your fine cape, your very fine coat-" Noor picked off medals off the coat and let them drop one by one on the floor around the prince. As metal hit the wood floor, it rang pathetically in the hall. She finished and slung the items over her shoulder and stooped down. She pulled the prince's knee high polished black boots off. "and these very, very fine boots as tokens. So I won't forget you. And so you won't forget this moment. Have a safe trip home."

Noor turned and left the shamed prince on the floor. His younger brother, Prince Dmitri rushed to his brother's side, their collective entourage gently picking him up and taking him away from the ballroom to Arendelle's Royal Physician. Gerda escorted them out in a hurry.

The room was still quiet with terror as Elsa made her way to the edge of the makeshift arena. The ice around it had fell away and disappeared but the frost was still in the atmosphere. She was shocked at the scene before her. Noor sheathed the Prince's ornate sword into its scabbard with a snap. Her clothes and hands were spattered with red. Splotches were across the sleeves and her hands dripped. She stood there and everyone in the room knew who she was.

_Noor the Southern Roar. _Elsa stood ready to fight her with arms already coursed with ice magic. Noor approached slowly. Her eyes were cast downward as she walked to Elsa and bowed deeply, holding the saber to her. The heat around her faded totally.

"Your majesty, my humblest apologies for disrupting the celebration tonight. I have no money or power to repair what has been destroyed, so please accept this sword as a gift. Its Ursurian steel, the highest quality steel available in the North. It's worth a small fortune and its the only thing of value in my possession."

Elsa continued to stare, the crowd frightened to see a storm with a skin bowing to Elsa and offering her a priceless sword. Uncomfortable silence took hold until Elsa finally took the sword from Noor's hands. Anna and Kristoff rushed to her side. Noor straightened. Elsa almost gasped to see sadness and regret in the same eyes that flashed hell rage mere minutes ago.

Noor turned to Anna and Kristoff. She handed the coat and boots to Kristoff. "This coat is high quality, fit for a king. Its military grade so it would be best for events like this. The boots are Corinthian leather so they will still look great when they last you the rest of your life." Noor turned to Anna and passed her the fur cape. "This is black bear fur. It will keep you warm when you go out with the Ice Master and Deliverer. Again, thank you for the evening and congratulations on your engagement."

Heidi came from the foyer, shaking as she held Noor's things and a towel. Noor turned and gathered her things from Heidi's awaiting arms. She took the purse and shook out a small handful of exotic shaped gold and silver coins, counting them over in a bloody finger. She pocketed the small handful of change and handed the still fat purse over to Heidi who shot her a look of confusion.

"For your trouble" Noor said to her. She retrieved a small pipe from her coat pocket and moving towards the open balconies overlooking the castle square. She stopped, turned around and bowed to Elsa and Anna politely. "Excuse me your majesty, your highness, Ice Master Kristoff. I need to go collect myself." Noor turned and disappeared beyond the doors with the pipe between her teeth as she went.

Elsa motioned for two of her Royal guards to follow Noor with the blood drop trail she left. Elsa almost whirled to face Anna, whose face still registered shock from the duel.

"Who in the nine circles of hell, did you give an invitation to?" She hissed between gritted, concealed teeth. Anna looked hurt and confused with the sudden outburst.

"She seemed harmless enough! She caught that pig and saved Kristoff and I from drowning in the fjord. I didn't think " Anna stammered.

"That's no surprise." Elsa spat, her fury building in her sharp voice. "Anna, do you realize what happened? You invited a criminal, an outlaw for heaven's sake to a royal function and brought harm to a very powerful prince of a very powerful empire with rulers who have extremely short tempers and a history of waging wars for revenge!"

Anna shrunk back for a split second, before her own teeth gritted as she spat back her retort to Elsa. "How is that my fault? Yes I invited someone I hadn't known about, but she has no warrants within Arendelle's borders and we have no extradition treaties with any kingdom for naval criminals as is. Noor acted as a free agent in Arendelle. We are not at fault for a foreign prince challenging her to a duel, a duel he requested and agreed in front of witnesses to not hold Arendelle responsible for. We are not at fault in any way Elsa so stop blaming me for it!"

Elsa was taken aback at the legal knowledge that Anna so angrily argued to her.

"Since when do you know law?" Elsa shoot back, the temperature in the room dropped further.

"Since you came into power so I could help you keep it!" Anna half shouted, bitter tears welling in her eyes.

Elsa's hostility fell as Anna stormed away, fighting a storm of tears as she went. Kristoff shook his head at Elsa and turned to follow Anna's wake. Elsa swore at herself watching Anna go. How could she have known Noor was someone dangerous, she had gone to a great length to help Anna without being requested and without knowing who Anna was. Guilt made her stomach churned as she realized that she put Noor's life in danger but was quickly chased away by rage at the fact that Noor lied.

Noor was an outlaw. A magic using outlaw. Gods, Elsa thought how powerful is she? Conjuring fire out of thin air and not being harmed by it, being able to raise the temperature in the room. Pyrokinesis and fire immunity. Alarm bells rang as she thought of the possibility of Noor matching her own powers. The last thing Arendelle needed was extensive fire damage. Then again, an injured prince, a duel at a royal function, and a nightmare of political relations were also the last things Arendelle needed.

As the servants wiped up the blood from the ballroom's floor, Elsa motioned for the band to resume the music and for the servers to continue service of alcohol. She hoped to calm the panic. She smiled reassuringly at the crowd who returned nervous smiles back and helped themselves heartily to the booze. Normal conversation resumed.

Elsa wrung her hands and looked to the doors. She steeled and excused herself quietly. Elsa headed towards the doors. The guards opened them for her and followed her out. She went to meet the Southern Roar. Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance.


End file.
